


Death Battle Legends

by Aura X-Y (Aurya)



Category: Bayonetta - Fandom, Death Battle (Web Series), Final Fantasy XIII Series, Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts, Tales of Symphonia, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: DBX-style matchups, Gen, Just battle, Listed complete but may still be updated later on, No analysis, sorrynotsorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-01 21:40:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17251877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurya/pseuds/Aura%20X-Y
Summary: Take two individuals with similar circumstances, pit them against each other, and find out who will win a Death Battle.Aura-X: Remind me again why I let you talk me into this?Aura-Y: Shall I answer chronologically, or alphabetically?





	1. Flash of Light Speed

**Author's Note:**

> Aura-X: ...Seriously?  
> Aura-Y: Hey, if you're actually gonna participate in this one we are gonna milk this stupid name for all it's worth.  
> Aura-X: {sigh} ...#WorthIt.
> 
> Aura-Y: So, we came up with a few matchups that we don't see particularly likely to end up in Death Battle.  
> Aura-X: If either of us had anything resembling visual art skills, we would make some quick fan-made episodes of our own, post them on YouTube, and hope we at least got a #TakeThat out of it.  
> Aura-Y: But we don't. So we're going to do written forms thereof.  
> Aura-X: Now, I am not going to pretend we have any of the knowledge (or discipline) necessary to do fight analysis for these things. This is like DBX, where we are doing it just for the fun of it. So, if you disagree with the outcome we devise... frick off.  
> Aura-Y: That is not a 'you suck and you deserve to suck' reprimand, by the way. If you want to see one of our fights with a factual outcome, don't just spew statistics at us. Should you agree with the matchup but disagree with the outcome, the best thing you can do is put the names we provide on the official Death Battle submission form and hit 'SUMBIT' to maximize the chances of Wiz and Boomstick giving it a proper analysis. And in case you don't know that Death Battle has an official submission form, we'll provide a link.  
> Aura-X: We are gonna kick off each episode with a proper DeathBattle-style fighter intro, though. And the chapter titles will be the mashup puns -we- would come up with if we were naming the soundtrack. And I might try and do a Boomstick-style pun at the end.  
> Aura-Y: Also, the rules of Death Battle declare that the combatants do not know each other if they have not met in canon. Therefore, whose perspective from which the battle is written will depend on who we have something to hide about. And if we don't have something to hide about anyone, it will be written depending on who is easier to come up with descriptors of. The perspective is not automatically indicative of who will be victorious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aura-X: That's what it's about, isn't it? That's what it's always been about? Gods. Gods! GODSGODSGODSGODS!  
> Aura-Y: And god -killers-.  
> Aura-X: Like Lightning, the Fleeting Flash of Final Fantasy.  
> Aura-Y: And Balder, Bayonetta's Lumen Sage daddy.

The waves crashed against the shore below as a rose-haired girl stepped onto the deck of the seaside hut she called her home. A light giggle broke through the lips of Serah Villiers - née Farron - as she saw her husband Snow lying on one of the chairs, snoring like a hibernating behemoth. Deciding not to disturb him, she took a seat at his side, content to listen to the sound of the waves.

Someone else had different ideas; a victorious seven-note melody emerged from her pocket as her cell phone received a text message. Snow started to stir, and with a sigh Serah drew out the device, finding it was a text from her sister.

The contents terrified her.

_I think I'm back in Nova Chrysalia. Odd._

* * *

A sound like steel against steel echoed from below as the bright-robed figure made his way to the edge of the building. There was someone in the plaza below; a woman in pale garb that looked almost militant. A pauldron on her left shoulder had two yellow streaks across it, glowing slightly, and from her right side flowed a red cape; hanging from her belt was the holster for a strange steel weapon, and after a moment to look over herself she raised a hand to her chest... and a strange glow emerged from beneath her garb.

That was all the provocation he needed; he reached forward, and light extended to either side from his palm.

Lightning pulled her hand away with a curse, letting the light fade as she looked around the twisted plaza she stood in, before a towering skyscraper. "Caius, if this is some kind of sick joke..."

The sound of a footstep - no, not quite a footstep, but the shifting as a foot propels its owner into a leap - drew her attention skyward; Lightning raised her gaze as she saw someone leaping from the rooftop. A figure in a blindingly bright robe, conforming enough to make it clear he was male but loose enough to give him plenty of mobility; a golden mask rested upon his face, and in his grip was a double-bladed halberd in gold and white, with jewels at the base of each blade.

_**FIGHT!** _

That glaive impaled itself in the ground where Lightning's feet had been as she leapt aside, reaching for her Blazefire Saber. She popped the handle and grabbed it in its firearm state, raising it at him and firing six rapid shots. To her dismay, the robed figure only drew his weapon out of the ground and whirled it before him, beating the shots aside; then he thrust forward, moving with a slide, and Lightning was forced to meet it on her weapon. The impact sent her skidding backwards, and she swung her gunblade to shift it to sword state before reaching for her chest and hurling a sphere of grey magic towards him.

The robed man brought his blade down as the magic drew near... and the Ruinga went off with a blast, throwing him into the air. Lightning charged him as he was neared the ground again, swinging her weapon with heavy slashes while the afterblast had yet to fade. The first blow met body; the next struck steel, sending him skidding out of the smoke as it began to clear; then his empty hand moved, and an orb of fire surged forward.

Lightning swung her own hand in retaliation, throwing a gust of wind; the two connected, and the flames blast while the Aerora whirled against nothing. Then the next projectiles came flying at her - feathers of peacocks, flying like kunai - and Lightning sidestepped one only for another two to strike her as she made to evade the last three. Her opponent charged forward with his weapon swinging, and Lightning brought her blade forward to meet his first blow before leaping over him amidst another.

He acted while she was still airborne; a sharp kick struck her, and she was sent flying across the rent square. She righted herself before her momentum wore off, starting to hurl magic at him; Fire, Blizzard, Water, spell after spell flying across the plaza towards him as fast as she could cast them. Her hopes that the bombardment would be rapid enough to prevent his long weapon from deflecting them each were quashed when he pulled it apart - it had been two blades joined at the hilt, and he cut down the nine casts she had sent his way before hurling the two blades towards her.

With a yelp of panic, Lightning ducked under the flying weapons, charging at him while his hands were still empty; then she heard them coming back; and she threw herself into the air as they returned. Her opponent caught them, one-two, and turned his back to her as he brought them together behind them, sealing them as one weapon again.

Lightning landed with a scoff. "Well," she mused, "I know you're not a Yun."

She charged at him again, and this time he returned the favour; he moved his weapon into a hard blow, and she draped her weapon in fire. Lightning managed to avoid the brunt of the swing, but still took a glancing blow as her Flamestrike connected; his next blow lashed her rank pauldron from her shoulder as she moved into a retaliatory Froststrike. A Sparkstrike landed as he struck across her now-unarmoured shoulder, and her Aquastrike landed as he pulled his weapon into two once more and swung at her high and low; the high swing missed all save her cape, but the low swing hit strong, and she retaliated with a skyward swing that launched him into the air.

The robed man turned in the air, but Lightning reached for her chest and then swung her arm, and Thundaga rained down on him, the voltage striking before she leapt up to meet him. Two blows were traded between them, his parted blades parrying her saber; then she twisted into a flip, and he joined them so that their combined shaft could meet the downward strike that threw him to the ground. He landed on his feet, but too roughly to strike her before she touched down herself; he hurled a sphere of voltage at her, but the shocks failed to deter her as she charged towards him.

"Try this on!"

She drew her blade back at her side and brought it into a skyward blow that knocked his glaive aside; then she twisted into a spin for another that struck him before he could move it to guard again. He tried to lash at her leg, but Lightning only raised it to strike him with a spinning kick; when he parted his blades, she met the arm holding one with another continuing swing before moving her weapon across to strike the other aside. It shifted to firearm state as she kicked away from the incoming swings, firing at his forehead; she heard his mask crack as she turned away and leapt into a downcoming kick, striking him in the chest and then twisting into a roundhouse kick to hit the hilt of his blade.

Then she whirled into a spin, striking him three times before sending him flying back. He rejoined his blade mid-flight and impaled it in the dark stone of the plaza to cut his flight short; as soon as his feet touched down, he pulled it aside. The top of his mask had been blown off to bare his forehead, yet he seemed none the worse for wear - there was only the faintest of marks upon his skin, clearly not from Lightning's shot.

A white diamond.

He swung his hand forward, hurling another feather; then he thrust his hand, and two spheres thrust forward in succession - one of flame, one of voltage. Lightning managed to strike the feather aside and sidestep the fireball, but the lightning orb slammed into her full-force, hurling her towards the skyscraper before which she fought with enough force to strike down the decor that hung over the entryway, kicking up further dust.

The robed man was motionless for a moment; then he raised a hand before him, and another feather appeared in his grip, which he hurled into the rubble.

It collided with a shield - a silver shield with gold ornamentation, upon the arm of Etro's champion. Lightning charged in the direction the feather had come from before the smoke could even clear as Overture appeared in her other hand; her opponent saw her coming and hurled his glaive at her like a javelin. Lightning sidestepped the flying weapon, only for it to be caught by its thrower - who had somehow crossed the distance in the time it took Lightning to turn in her evasion - and then brought into another swing; she met the strike on Goddess' Grace, and then wind wrapped her gunblade as she brought it into a whirling swing.

Her weapon connected with the robed man's defense, yet he could barely make to retaliate before gales whirled around him - a twister forged of magic, battering him from all sides as he fought to stay standing. With an angered roar, he brought his blade into a whirling round swing; Lightning met the weapon on her shield, but failed entirely to anticipate the giant echo forged of light that slammed into her back, throwing her aside. She righted herself and shifted her weapon to firearm, blasting at him; her opponent brought his weapon up once, twice, thrice to meet the shots, then whirled it into a downward motion, causing another echo to fly down at her from above, impaling itself in the ground inches from her toes as she leapt away.

The gales dying down, Lightning swung her hand once more; dark mists surged forth from the motion, twisting through the air and connecting with her opponent. The chaos dug into his body, and though it refused to take hold, he retaliated nonetheless, leaping into the air with three feathers seized in his grip.

They glowed with magic, and he hurled them above him.

" _Honolol!_ "

The feathers' glow became fierce, and a massive golden glyph appeared in the air above him. From it emerged a massive, humanoid figure that seemed to be forged of marble; it lacked legs, and its arms seemed to be connected only by sparks of voltage between its underarm and shoulder. Its fingers seemed like massive tubes, and three of them were sufficient to surpass the robed man's height; as he descended towards the square again, it raised its hand towards Lightning, its tips revealing them to be hollow.

Lightning realized what was coming her way and reached for her chest as a bright shine emerged from beneath the bird on her chestplate. "This is  _not_ happening."

She hurled a rose-shaped crystal into the air as the massive creature began to fire at her; then she leapt as the first of its titanic projectiles grew near. Overture was brought into a sharp swing as she passed the eidolith, shattering it and causing light to extend in petals around its impact; a steely knight of white and gold emerged from it, twice Lightning's size, one hand holding a weighty shield and the other a massive dual-blade whose serrated edges formed an S.

Odin advanced on the newcome titan, stopping its shots on Ullr's Shield as Lightning descended upon the robed man. His glaive appeared in his grip once again, but Lightning hurled three shots of Ruin at him, occupying him with striking them aside as she landed a few feet to his right. The titan made to bring its fist into Odin, who parted Gagnrad's blades as the robed man charged at Lightning with a leaping blow; she stopped his blow upon Goddess' Grace, attempting to fire at him and finding him evading the shots night effortlessly, and his giant's swing was met by a crushing blow between Odin's blades, shearing off the marble coating of its fingers.

The robed man twisted and landed behind Lightning, making to bring his weapon into her back; she narrowly stepped aside, retaliating with a skyward swing to his blade as Odin performed a leaping spin in an effort to strike at the titan's face. A jewel upon the giant's forehead propelled a beam of light that seared into the Eidolon even as his swing landed, and Lightning's attempt at striking with the man while his weapon recoiled only found its other blade lashed into her arm mid-blow for her trouble. His next blow was stopped on Goddess' Grace, and he quickly parted the other blade and meant to jab it into her arm; she met that edge on Overture as the giant attempted to crush Odin between its fists.

The blows connected, but failed to hinder the Eidolon as he raised Gagnrad above him - and thunder fell down upon the titan. Before it could retaliate, he parted his blades and charged forward, and this time his crushing blow connected with its body. Lightning forced the robed man's weapons aside and shifted Overture; he attempted to thrust at her heart and ended up connected with the blade that now rested along her gunblade's barrel before she fired a single powerful shot. The blast struck his mask, and he retaliated with a surge of blinding light that sent the two of them skidding away from one another.

The titan began to fade away; as Odin made to rejoin his blades, the robed man tossed his glaive over his shoulder and twisted to seize it in a throwing posture before hurling it to impale Odin through the chest. The Eidolon skidded back, and Gagnrad impaled itself in the pavement as he fell to one knee, his body fading out.

"Who do you think you are?"

Lightning turned to the robed man with a raised eyebrow. His mask had cracked when she had fired at it again, and now it shattered with enough force to throw back his hood, baring a pale face and paler hair that flowed behind him.

A bitter smirk rose on Lightning's face as she stepped towards Odin's fallen blade; she aimed her gunblade at him disdainfully. "So your mouth works," she observed. "There was just magic in that mumbo-jumbo."

She swung Overture to the side, letting it fade out as the robed man aimed his glaive at her. "I have stood upon the heavens, and guided mankind to its own damnation." Lightning seized Gagnrad, voltage dancing across it as it faded out with a scattering of feathers. "I have beheld the world of chaos for eras on end, and reached through time itself. Who are you, that you think you can stand against god?"

The disdain on Lightning's face became fury; she turned towards him as light flashed upon her garments, the silver and gold of a champion replaced with the black and red of a saviour. Goddess' Grace was replaced upon her arm by a narrow buckler in crimson, but that quickly extended to a plate of obsidian and ruby as she reached for the long blade upon her back.

"How about the goddess of death?"

Power surged across her opponent; eight shining peacock tails extended around him in all directions like the wings of an angel who had none. He charged forward with a swing of his blade - and this time, his every motion of that weapon extended an echo of light. Lightning ducked under one edge, met another on Night Lotus, and parried a third with Crimson Blitz before he was near enough; then he thrust his weapon skyward, and a draconic head lunged out of the ground beneath her, prompting her to leap aside. She swung her free hand at him, hurling a blast of Firaga that slammed into him and exploded, yet he only retaliated with a sphere of voltage, and Lightning had to leap skyward to evade.

He leapt after her with parallel thrusts of his glaive - one in his grip, one an echo at his side - but Lightning met the projection on her shield and let the physical blade skim across her arm before bringing her sword down on him, hurling him to the ground ahead of her. She landed with a falling blow that split his weapon in two as he tried to move - leaving him with only one blade in his grip as he got to his feet - and then hurled a cast of Blizzaga that connected with him and sent edges of ice in all directions. A blast of fire burst out around him, and another draconic head seemed to reach out of thin air; Lightning leapt aside, and her foe seized his weapon fallen weapon as she made to charge him, parrying her blows with his own edges.

Without warning, a barrier of golden glyphs appeared before him, throwing her back; then he brought his blade in a round swing, and projections lashed across Lightning from both sides, throwing her back. She righted herself with her shield against the ground as he began to hurl feathers at her once again; she met the bombardment on her shield before charging him, and when he thrust his hand forth to cast at her she raised her own to counter his spell with hers.

But it wasn't flame or thunder that he cast - it was a string of time, and as it struck Lightning's movement was slowed to a crawl.

An irritable huff emerged from the robed man as he lowered his hand. "Such hubris, all of you." He advanced on Lightning, his weapon at the ready. "Humans, always overreaching themselves. You are no goddess. You are no champion. You cannot even claim to stand equal with this Sage, for you are no Witch!"

He raised his glaive, and made to bring it down on Lightning's head.

With a rush of movement, Lightning moved her shield to meet it, pushing her body to overclock.

"That doesn't mean you get to fuck with me!"

Her foe stumbled back as she lifted off the ground; she rushed forward, and Crimson Blitz cleaved his joined blades apart. Another rush knocked the weapons from his hands, and he stumbled away, and another struck  _him_ full-bodied. She twisted in the air as light flashed upon her again - returning her to her Guardian Corps uniform - and she brought Blazefire Saber into a sequence of advancing swings. As the seventh connected, he was knocked into the air; she twisted around him with another flash, and the armour of a Knight of Etro clade her again as she moved Overture into thirteen passing blows. Each strike knocked him into the air, and the last one had an ascending rise that sent him skyward after her.

Another flash put her back in the saviour's garb, and Gagnrad appeared in her hands with a scattering of rose petals as she twisted into four whirling blows upon the helpless foe that lingered before her.

She fell to the ground, crossing Odin's blades behind her.

It was only then that her swings tore through her opponent.

And then they  **rent the skyscraper into five**.

There was silence in the square before the plaza as Lightning joined Gagnrad before her, and then moved it to her side; it vanished as it had appeared, and Crimson Blitz took its place in her grip. Then four notes rang across the distorted square; and Lightning started for a moment, looking around for some sign that her foe was still here. After a moment, she realized she knew the melody; a flash returned her to her Guardian Corps uniform, and she reached into the pouch on her left leg, drawing out her cell phone - it was a text from Serah.

_Are you high?_

With a roll of her eyes, Lightning tapped out a reply;  _No. That's why it's odd._

_**K.O.!** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarification note: Serah's ringtone is meant to be the XIII-2 (non-5star) victory theme, and Lightning's is meant to be the XIII victory theme.  
> \----------------------  
> Aura-X: They both flash bright, but Balder's the one who faded away.  
> Aura-Y: The winner is Lightning.


	2. Between Night and Twilight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aura-Y: When the world is sitting on your shoulders, and you have a million people expecting you to save them... sometimes you just need a break.  
> Aura-X: Whether it's taking pictures, cooking up a good meal, or just casting a line.  
> Aura-Y: These are two combatants who can jump from taking a break to fighting through hundreds and back again in the blink of an eye.  
> Aura-X: Link, the Hero of Hyrule from the Legend of Zelda.  
> Aura-Y: And Noctis, the Chosen King from Final Fantasy.

Closer... closer...

"Uh, hey..."

A panicking yelp ripped through Link's lips as he dropped his fishing rod; his hand was halfway to his weapon before he realized the person who had interrupted him was stumbling well away with his hands raised. "Woah, woah, woah! Calm down!" Link paused, though he didn't relax his stance, as his confrontor - a young man of black hair, dressed in black with a short cape - beckoned towards Hena's fishing house. "Is this place free to fish from the shore?"

Quiet for a moment; then Link nodded, kneeling down to pick his rod back up. A scowl decorated his face as he realized his yell and the fall of his rod had been enough to scare what he was pretty sure had been a young  _Hylian loach_ nibbling on his bait; he pulled his bobber and line out of the water, and the newcomer - who looked as though he'd been about to ask another question - pulled away and stepped past him, making a good way down the shore so they weren't fishing side-by-side. A suspicious blue light drew Link's attention as he realized the other fisherman's rod had just  **appeared**  in his grip; a good look revealed his rod was a reel.

A moment's contemplation... and then Link turned his attention back to his bobber. Hena's charge was technically just for the boat (and possibly her accompaniment); the offering of a reel fishing rod was most likely just because that was more effective from a canoe.

There was a few minutes of quiet fishing; Link had an Ordon catfish halfway out of the water when something slammed into the rock formation sticking out of the middle of the lake. He turned, letting the fish tumble to the dock, as he realized a _broadsword_ had been driven into the peak; with another flash of blue light, the black-clad fisherman appeared around it, and he pulled the sword out of the rock and let it vanish before his fishing rod appeared again, and he cast the line down.

With a groan, Link hoisted his catfish to eye level get a good measurement. The best fish  **were** found in the middle of the lake; if he had a method by which to fish from there, he would've done it himself. A quick gauge revealed he wasn't setting any records, and he let the fish fall back into the water and was preparing to cast the line again when he saw the other man's lure hit the water.

And continue below its surface.

Link let his rod fall again; this time he went for his bow, drew a bomb arrow, and lit it before taking aim.

**_FIGHT!_ **

The sound of the burning fuse drew the fisherman's attention an instant before Link let it fly; the projectile flew at the black-clad fisherman, who yelped and hurled his rod at the shore. His body vanished an instant before the bomb arrow made contact, leaving it flying through a cloud of blue light as the warping man reappeared around his rod; that tool quickly vanished as Link drew another bomb arrow, and as he loosed this one the broadsword reappeared in his opponent's hand. His body seemed to briefly become ephemeral as the shot passed him by, and he hurled his sword at Link, who quickly swung his bow over his shoulder and drew his Hylian Shield to intercept it.

The flying blade struck the plate's surface, and his opponent reappeared with his hand on the grip. Link quickly seized the grip of his own sword, bringing the Blade of Evil's Bane out in a whirling, spinning blow that would have dealt death had his opponent not narrowly evaded it. His broadsword vanished, replaced with a lance that he thrust towards Link; the Hylian met it on his shield, but the black-clad warrior seemed to use the defense as leverage, propelling himself into the air and twisting thereat before making to bring his spear down on Link's head.

Link managed to hop away from the attack, letting the polearm be impaled in the ground; then he thrust his shield, slamming it into the weapon's wielder. As the teleporter stumbled away, his spear fading, Link leapt into the air and seized the Master Sword between both hands, turning mid-leap with intention to splice his opponent's helm with it. A flash of blue light surrounded his black-clad foe, and he vanished for an instant, reappearing a step to the side. Before Link could make to land, his foe's hands seized a pair of daggers, and he hurled one and then the other at Link, who took one to the leg but managed to meet the other on his shield.

The vanished before he had even landed, reappearing in their thrower's hands; the black-clad weaponsmaster promptly hurled them again, this time at once, and when they were stopped on the shield he appeared with his hands on their hilts, stepping to the side with an effort to strike at Link's sword arm. Link quickly turned to meet the incoming blows, stopping them on his shield as well; a quick, pointed thrust glanced across one of his opponent's arms, and his attempt at retaliation found Link hopping aside, rolling across the ground, and making to strike with a rising spin.

His opponent flashed and vanished again, reappearing behind Link and then invoking a massive two-handed blade that he attempted to bring down on the Hylian's head. Link quickly met it on his shield, sliding back from the force of the blow; when his opponent hurled the weapon at him, Link leapt aside, sheathed his Master Sword, and drew a different tool. Sure enough, his opponent reappeared where the blade had tumbled, and Link hurled the Gale Boomerang at him, wind ripping up around it as it flew across the arm of the man in black.

The weaponsmaster stumbled, confused. "Wait, was that a-?"

The boomerang returned, striking his other arm as it passed him again, and Link caught it, this time taking a moment to focus on his targets before throwing. It struck his foe again and then veered aside as Link drew his blade, but the black-clad swordsman paid it no mind as his own broadsword appeared in his grip once more. This time, when he threw the weapon to close the distance, Link moved the Master Sword to meet it, and when the swordsman reappeared he was forced to grab his blade two-handed to fight the lock he had arrived in.

Link seized the grip of his own blade to struggle against the lock as well, and for a moment they seemed evenly matched; then the Gale Boomerang returned on its path, and as it struck his foe, Link managed to seize dominance, throwing his weapon back. He twisted into a spin attack, bringing his blade into his opponent's sword arm to knock the weapon out of his hands; then a thrust landed across his foe's ribs, and Link leapt forward with a flying swing.

His opponent vanished before the strike could connect, and this time when he reappeared something else did the same; a surge of light burst out around him, and thirteen weapons were floating at his sides, each appearing to be made of  _crystal_. He seized one weapon out of the ring and charged forward, and when Link moved his shield to intercept the other twelve bombarded him from all sides. With an angry yell, Link forced the black-clad swordsman back; he made to seize another weapon, but this time Link drew his Clawshot, and before that flying weapon could be swung - or  _fired_ , it would seem, for the weapon seemed to be a crossbow - the claws seized its tip and dragged it out of its owner's hand.

With an angry yell, the black-clad warrior charged forward with his polearm at the ready; Link flung off his Clawshot, went for the Master Sword, and waited for him to thrust before drawing it with a whirling blow.

The spear lashed across Link's side; but the Master Sword struck his foe with enough force to leave him trailing blood as he was flung back, tumbled along the shore, and fell into the water.

When Link turned to the crossbow he had snatched away, it had already vanished.

**_K.O.!_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarification note: Noctis is intended to be fishing in his Kingly Raiment. The use of Twilight-Era Hyrule and corresponding Link is purely to provide a fishing spot.  
> Matchup note: Link's last Death Battle was back in Season One. Based on Batman and Shadow's track records, he's still a viable combatant if he's suggested.  
> \----------------------  
> Aura-X: Looks like the King of Fishing has gone to swim with them.  
> Aura-Y: The winner is Link.


	3. Wings of Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aura-X: Don't you just hate it when your trusted ally turns out to be working for the bad guys?  
> Aura-Y: Tell me about it. All you can do is hope they think better of it in time.  
> Aura-X: Like Riku, the souleating Keyblade Master from Kingdom Hearts.  
> Aura-Y: And Zelos Wilder, the three-timing casanova from Tales of Symphonia.

"If Emil finds out about this, I am not gonna live it down."

Zelos had thought it was  **such** a good idea to try and impress a girl on the Altamira beach with Rheaird aerobatics. He thought he was  _such_ a sweet pilot. One poorly-handled turn later, he'd lost control and crash-landed on the Otherworldly Gate - and the Gate had  _opened up_ , and now he was stuck in the Ginnungagap.

Whilst he was contemplating how to get off the Gate's isle without a running Rheaird, a strange sound got his ear - an odd  **rumble**. He turned in surprise and found a hole of dark mist before him; from it stumbled someone whose mannerisms implied he'd taken a few blows to the head. A younger-looking boy, with silver hair cropped short, dressed in a long cloak of black. The hole he'd come from seemed to condense and vanish, and he reached for his nose for a moment before looking around.

"Um..."

A click of Zelos' tongue got the boy's attention; the Tethe'allan Chosen stepped forward. "Do I want to know what you're doing here?"

"Probably not," the cloak admitted, "but since when do pretty boys get to limit their worries to impressing girlfriends?"

Zelos gave a bitter chuckle, reaching for his sword. "As much as I wanna assume you're here on friendly terms..." Last Fencer whispered against its sheath as he drew it at his side. "...you're bargin' in on my friend's crib, uninvited, without using the door."

The silver-haired boy narrowed his gaze, his right hand going to his size. "And does your 'friend'..." A dark light shone out from his palm, and then faded out to reveal a long sword shaped like a dragon wing had appeared; an angel's wing protruded at an angle from the tip, and black-and-white wings were arranged yin-yang around his grip. "...have a habit of ensnaring women with false hopes?"

A glare decorated Zelos' face, and he lashed his sword against the ground once and then twice to send projectiles flying across the ground towards the boy in black.

_**FIGHT!** _

A yelp broke through the stranger's lips as he leapt aside; as the Double Demon Fang passed him, he turned his winged weapon forward and launched a blast of fire at Zelos. The Chosen quickly raised his guard to stop the projectile, and the boy charged at him with his blade raised; Zelos promptly stepped aside before moving into a bombardment of flourishing swings, the boy struggling to parry or evade until he managed to lock against a downward blow, blade-against-blade and hilt-against-hilt.

"I don't play nice with people who talk about my friends like that," Zelos snapped.

"I don't play nice with people who call people like that their friends," the cloak countered.

He forced Zelos back and brought his winged weapon down, striking Zelos in the sword arm and then dashing with a blow across his side before leaping into the air and making to bring his weapon down in a falling thrust. Zelos promptly raised his shield to meet it, only to find that providing a foothold for the boy to leap back into the air and come down again. The second blow had more impact to it, leaving Zelos stumbling, and as the boy rose for another fall, the Chosen leapt into the air with a spinning blow, lashing across the boy's off hand as they passed one another.

With a growl, the boy turned round as Zelos was descending, raising his weapon; a blast of ice flew from the tip, and this one had enough of an impact that Zelos - still in the air - was left reeling when he tried to block it. The boy hurled his weapon at Zelos, who promptly sidestepped the throw and proceeded to dash forward with a Super Sonic Thrust; his blade connected before the boy could move aside, only for his weapon to  _return on its trajectory_ and strike Zelos in the back, leaving him stumbling.

The cloak took advantage of his stagger and raised his winged weapon; a burst of magic ripped up around him, and Zelos found himself thrown into the air and  _suspended there_. With a yelp, Zelos tried to turn and found himself tumbling in place, and whilst he tried to right himself, the silver-haired boy leapt up and brought his winged weapon down hard on his back, throwing him to the ground and leaving him rolling until he managed to stand.

Zelos rolled his shoulders, twirling his sword at his side. "Okay, not cool."

He traced a quick diamond in the air before him with the fingers of his shield hand before twisting and invoking an Icicle beneath the cloak's feet; the boy leapt straight up as the ice formed, missing his feet by moments as he launched another shot of ice down. This time, Zelos sidestepped it, letting it hit the ground beneath him; as the boy landed, his ribs were struck with a quick thrust of Last Fencer, and then a bolt of lightning slammed down on him, leaving him stumbling back. The Chosen quickly brought his weapon into a leaping uppercut, striking the boy's blade to throw him off, and then in midair hurled a blast of fire down - it narrowly missed the cloak, but detonated against the ground and threw him back, singing the hem of his garment.

The boy righted himself, smirking as he stood upright. "Cocky."

He turned his winged weapon forward, and three bursts of voltage flew from the tip; Zelos raised his shield to block them, then made to charge forward and found his opponent already up in his face. One blow met his shield, and another his sword; the Chosen tried to retaliate, only for his opponent to fade to a shadow, and then disappear. Another blow connected from the side, and Zelos turned in an effort to defend against two more before his foe vanished again. The Chosen turned in an effort to strike and found himself parried on another swing, and three more struck him before the boy disappeared; when Zelos felt him coming, he raised his shield and formed a barrier around himself, letting a bombardment of seven swings strike ineffectively against it before retaliating with a Fierce Demon Fang to throw his opponent back.

Zelos reached for the Key Crest against his chest, making sure those solid blows hadn't damaged anything, before raising his gaze to the cloak.

"Trying to play in the darkness around _here_? Give me a break."

He lashed his hand to the side, and ephemeral emerald wings extended around from his back, catching the boy off-guard. A wave of his hand called down beams of Judgement to rain on the Ginnungagap, catching the boy off-guard; one landed hard on his head of silver-hair, stunning him as Zelos charged forward. A point-blank Demon Fang struck him with both wave and blade; then he thrust his blade forward for a Hurricane Thrust, and the burst stunned his opponent before he was dragged into the air air with a rising spin and then thrown back a whirling blow. As his foe tumbled across the ground, Zelos raised his hand, and an ornate sigil appeared beneath his opponent, striking the cloak with a burst of light; then beams of shining power began to rain down upon him, bombarding him with a holy force that had never failed to see its target to the end.

Such, then, was Zelos' surprise as a sphere of black lunged out of the bounds of Divine Judgement, and then formed the cloaked boy.

"The closer you get to the light..."

He turned his weapon forward, and a blast of fire surged forth - but it was a  _dark_ fire, an unnatural flame. Zelos raised his shield as he expected it to make contact, only for it to split into a bombardment of dark flames that lashed at him from both sides.

"...the greater your shadow becomes."

The boy rose into the air, and then charged forward blade-first. As he rushed across Zelos' sword arm, he seemed to vanish in a ripple of darkness, only to reappear from another side and lunge at him again. Three, four, five, six, seven, eight rushing blows, battering and disarming Zelos as he tried to react; then he appeared in the air above, and the Chosen could only raise his gaze before the dark figure came down with a blast of darkness, throwing him across the battlefield helplessly.

Then that winged weapon was raised, and a massive, flaming stone manifested in the air above him and  _came down_.

Zelos had no chance to react; the impact slammed into him and threw him into the walls of the Ginnungagap hard enough to cull his life, and then gravity took him into a fall to ensure it.

The cloak stood where he had cast for a moment before a familiar shifting emerged from nearby; he turned to find another, smaller figure - in a cloak not totally different from his own - emerging from another dark rift. "Majesty?"

"Riku!" the King greeted. "There ya are! I think ya took a wrong turn."

"Wrong tur-" Riku glanced around. "Then, this isn't..."

The King gave him a look. "Something wrong?"

Riku glanced at the wall where his opponent had connected before shaking his head. "No, it's nothing. Let's get out of here, I think I might have ticked someone off..."

He charged into the Corridor of Darkness, and the King followed him in.

**_K.O.!_ ** __

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarification note: Riku's wearing a black cloak is an effort to avoid spoilers and still establish his timeframe as post 0.2 BBS AFP (courtesy of remarks about darkness-defensive garments). We know nothing about KHIII at this time, and if you should try to change that, Draco has threatened to gut you.  
> \----------------------  
> Aura-X: Sorry, Zelos, you just couldn't -land- this one.  
> Aura-Y: The winner is Riku.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: these fights are written purely for the sake of the fights themselves. We are not doing analysis, and we are not going to change our results just because YOU are doing analysis. If you want to see the matchup properly analyzed and performed appropriately, take the fighters and the series they come from and fill in this form:
> 
> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJeEnkXGbuGh2Cv07BvgUSLqhop5PAn61pHEJDhxNLNu458A/viewform


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